CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Many would call her a mover and a shaker, but to the majority of those whose lives she has touches, Bea Hanson of the Coastal Bend Food Bank is a Godsend.
Our Rudy Trevino spoke with this local hero about what brought her to our city, and her calling.
"I was born in Mexico City and I grew up in Mexico City."
As Beatriz B. Hanson tells it, her upbringing in Mexico City was just like living in New York City. Fast paced, congested, a difficult city to maneuver in she told us.
But then one day fate stepped in...
"I met my husband and he was from Corpus Christi. And we got married and then, well I came to live in Corpus Christi and what a difference. I loved it."
It's where Bea found her purpose in life, doing what she's done for the past 24 years now: leading, growing, and nurturing the premier Food Bank in the nation.
But first, let's get back to the beginning.
"I didn't speak English when I first arrived," Bea told us. A new country, a new custom, a new language. It brings one to ask, how did Bea adapt?
She says, "it was a very interesting process to learn the language to start understanding. To first start watching tv and getting frustrated, and eventually understanding before I could make the words mine. And then assimilating into the culture. And understanding the Mexican culture here."
Bea shared that she often sought out those who spoke her native tongue just to learn more about the people who called this place home.
"Eventually I became a citizen of the united states, and I accepted this country as mine, and I have the same pride for this country and for the people that live here. Then, somehow, God gave me the opportunity to work with people."
With a degree in education and Spanish literature, Bea says there was simply no place for her to work here... Until eventually Bea found work with several social service agencies.
"I was welcomed into the homes of people, and I realized the needs of the community, and how important it was for us to... for me to be part of the solution in those needs."
Then, 24 years ago, her true calling.
"So when the opportunity became open for me to apply for this position, it was just the perfect match. My heart was there already and it's been a mission. I love it."
For Hanson, it's the community and volunteers that are to thank for the Coastal Bend Food Bank's success. And with the announcement of a new facility in the works, Hanson says donors have been lining up to give: both financially, and with food.
Bea ended our interview by saying as long as there is hunger, the Coastal Bend Food Bank will always be there.